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(U//FOUO) Open Source Center United Socialist Party of Venezuela Targeting Young Voters

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Venezuela — PSUV Wooing Younger Voters

FEA20100617006250 – OSC Feature – Venezuela — OSC Report 16 Jun 10

President Chavez is moving to win support among younger voters — who represent about a third of the electorate — amid worsening economic conditions that may erode the showing of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in September legislative elections among traditionally pro-Chavez voters. Chavez has portrayed several victories by younger challengers over incumbents in the 2 May PSUV primaries as evidence of the party’s commitment to youth, in contrast with what he portrays as dismissive treatment by the opposition. He also is using popular Internet platforms to engage youth directly as the government targets them with new media initiatives.

PSUV Touts Openness to Young People

Chavez and PSUV leaders have hailed victories in party primaries of 44 younger challengers as a sign of the party’s renewal, and as proof of its commitment to giving young people leadership roles, in contrast to what they portray as a moribund opposition.

New PSUV banner on the official news agency’s website features a young woman; earlier versions had shown Chavez (ABN, 14 June).[ 1]

Chavez and National Assembly President Cilia Flores billed the primaries as giving greater influence and leadership to youth, in contrast to the “contempt” offered by the opposition (VTV, 9 April; Ultimas Noticias.com.ve, 7 May).[ 2] [ 3]

Vice President Jaua stressed that the party had managed a “generational” power transfer in less than a decade, and PSUV National Youth Coordinator Hector Rodriguez contrasted the PSUV’s giving youth a “central role” with the opposition’s wanting to “take advantage” of them (RNV, 3, 5 May).[ 4] [ 5]

Chavez Using Twitter, Blogs for Youth Outreach

Chavez is using popular Internet platforms to present himself as an engaged and accessible leader who cares about young people, and who is comfortable with new technology.

For example, Chavez has been using Twitter — a social networking website popular among students — to answer calls for scholarships. He regularly uses slang to heighten the image of accessibility, and his account name, “ChavezCandanga,” translates to “troublemaker,” which heightens its appeal to youth (Twitter, 28 April-15 June). [ 10] [a]

Playing off his Twitter success, Chavez started a blog with a counter to record his number of followers (www.chavez.org.ve, 10 June).[ 11] The blog reposts his Twitter messages and newspaper columns and reports on his speeches, but thus far has no unique content.

Propaganda Geared Toward Youth

The Chavez government also is recruiting young people to help spread its message online and on the street, and is targeting them with political advertising.

Chavez launched a new program to establish “media guerillas,” teenagers who would be trained in communications to counter the opposition, and who would learn to use the Internet, social networking sites, murals, and loudspeakers to spread the government’s political message (VTV, 11 April).[ 12]

State television channel VTV is using satirical cartoons to mock the opposition in an apparent government response to the popular anti-Chavez website El Chiguire Bipolar. Some VTV ads portray opposition leaders as indifferent to youth; other ads stress their egocentrism or their wastefulness of resources like water or electricity (VTV, 1 April-15 June).[ 13] Click here to view a 20-second example.